“The Life of Pablo” West drops new album on Tidal

By: Zenab Saeed ~Staff Writer~

Following many delays, changes and great anticipation, Grammy Awar-winning artist Kanye West released his seventh studio album titled “The Life of Pablo” on Feb. 14.

The album, which was released by GOOD Music and Def Jam Records, is West’s first album release after his 2013 release of critically-acclaimed and Grammynominated “Yeezus.”

West began work on “The Life of Pablo” in late 2013. The album, which was originally titled “So Help Me God,” was initially projected for release in 2014. West switched the name of the album to “Waves” and “Swish” before ultimately deciding on “The Life of Pablo.”

Fans initially thought the album title was in reference to artist Pablo Picasso, whom West famously compared himself to in a 2014 speech at Oxford University and in a line from “No More Parties in L.A.” previously released before the album.

“My goal, if I was going to do art, fine art, would have been to become Picasso or greater,” West said.

Following a series of tweets from West the day before the release of his album, the actual meaning of his album title was revealed as a reference to the Spanish name for Apostle Paul.

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Photo courtesy of tidal.com | West announced on Twitter that his album will only be available on Tidal.

Singles released in 2015 like West’s “Only One,” “FourFiveSeconds” (featuring Rihanna and Paul McCartney) and “All Day” were initially written for West’s new album but were instead replaced with 18 entirely new songs.

The hip-hop album, which is nearly an hour long, includes collaborations with artists Chance the Rapper, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, The Weeknd, Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar.

West performed songs “Ultralight Beam” and “Highlights” off of the album on the Feb. 13 episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

The album has received mixed reviews from fans due to some deviation from West’s previous work. Despite this, critical reviews of “The Life of Pablo” are generally favorable.

West debuted the album at Madison Square Garden alongside the fashion show for his new Yeezy Season 3 apparel line.

Although West has not yet announced plans for a tour to promote the album, it is currently available for streaming on musicstreaming service website Tidal and the Tidal app.